Mar 24, 2008

success is arbitrary

A flawed premise, and a little logic, and you can justify giving a student 50% for nothing. Ryan finds it troublesome, and so do I.

However, there's a deeper question: who originally decided that, when it comes to a passing grade, 60% is good enough?

(By the way, success for a National Board candidate is 68.75 percent. I have exactly one week to get the first part of my D+ or better.)

1 comment:

MTGAP said...

The bottom line is an A and F should average out to a C," DeJong said. "But a 100 and a zero don't average out to a C. It is still an F. I see this as being fair to kids."

I completely disagree with the premise that A and F should average to C. If there are two assignments, and one is perfect and the other is not turned in, that's a failure. Not just in school, but anywhere.